Heavy rain floods streets in Tainan, 'rain break' declared

Tainan City gave employees a day off yesterday morning due to flooding from torrential rain, but many citizens complained that the city government did not announce this decision early enough, causing them trouble during their commutes in the city.

Under the influence of a southwesterly current, Tainan City was hit by torrential rain, causing floods in and around the city. The flooding was above the knee on certain streets in the Guiren, Rende, Yongkang and Anding districts. In addition, stagnant water collected in the east side of the city, causing many cars to breakdown on the roadside and resulting in extreme traffic.

In light of the situation, the city government made an emergency announcement at 8:15 a.m., announcing a "torrential rain break" due to the damage brought on by the heavy rain. However, many people only learned this news after arriving at their offices and had to commute back in the heavy rain again. Some parents sent their kids to school then had to bring them back again after learning the news.

In response to complaints from residents, the city government explained that the situation was not severe enough to warrant an earlier announcement.

Some citizens also questioned the severity of conditions caused by torrential rain, saying that the city government has spent lots of money on urban drainage so the damage should have been negligible. Therefore, some citizens hope that Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) will explain the situation and clarify how the money was spent.

In addition, firefighters also supported the evacuation of some residents in lowland areas. Especially some patients at social-welfare centers had already been moved to other places by morning, yesterday.

I was actually surprised by the decision. I drove to work, it was raining but nothing worth mentioning. I sat at work for an hour and then I was told to go home. On the way home it was only slightly spitting and by the afternoon it was dry. So I suspect the flooding must have been near the coastal areas as in my area there wasn't a problem and I got a day off due to a little rain.

That guy complained about typhoon day being used as a political tool, at least when the typhoon came it was raining hard for hours and had strong winds, yesterday was a non-event in my district.

A street in Tainan's Rende industrial district is flooded due to several days of heavy rainfall. Tainan City gave employees a day off yesterday morning due to flooding from torrential rain, but many citizens complained that the city government did not announce this decision early enough, causing them trouble during their commutes in and around the city.